Virtual Green Week

Welcome to Wesley’s first virtual Green Week!

Although we can’t be together on campus to celebrate Green Week this year we still want to mark the occasion and think about how we can protect our local and global environment.

We have a number of competitions for all students and staff to take part in:

1. Photography competition – theme “my 2km”. Go outside and take a photograph of something in nature within your 2km radius from home.

2. Poetry and music competition – theme “COVID-19 and our planet’s health”. Write a poem or song about the positive effect that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our planet’s health.

3. Baking competition – theme “my quarantine bake”. Create your own unique baked product using ingredients you already have in your kitchen to limit food waste.

4. Recycled bird feeder competition – get creative with whatever is in your recycling bin and make a bird feeder for your garden or nearby park.

There will be prizes for each competition. The best entries will also be displayed on the school website, social media and in the yearbook.

Please submit photos of your entries to Ms Duffy at gwen.duffy@staff.wesleycollege.ie by this Sunday 26^th April 2020.

We also have a number of suggested activities for you to complete during Green Week and beyond:

• Identifying birds – see if you can spot the most common garden birds in Ireland from outside your window or around the 2km radius from your home. Count the birds that you have spotted using this poster: http://birdwatchcork.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Stay-At-Home-Challenge-ID-Poster-scaled.jpg

• Litter pick-up – start picking up litter that you see on your walks around your neighbourhood. Look out for discarded plastic gloves and masks in particular at the moment! Use gloves to pick up litter or wash your hands when you get home.

• Spot that plant – download the app PlantSnap and start learning about the flowers and plants around you.

• Bin audit – take a look through your litter bins at home and make sure that you’re putting the right waste in the right bin! Use this guide to help you: https://www.aesirl.ie/home/what-goes-in-my-bin/recycle-bin/

• Meatless Mondays – take up a new habit of going vegetarian every Monday. Eating less meat is one of the best ways to help the planet!

• Star gaze – download the app SkyView and learn about the planets and stars that you can see from your window at night.

• Upcycle old clothes and household items – look around your house for old clothes and items that you don’t use anymore. Transform them into something new and useful. Here’s one idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HHQiDvLYe4  

• Grow it yourself – buy some vegetable or fruit seeds online or in your local hardware store and start growing your own food! You could even make your own biodegradable pots... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLhvQZ0MF8Y&feature=emb_title

• Watch a documentary – sit down with your family and watch a nature documentary such as any of David Attenborough’s shows.

• Make your own sustainable face mask: https://twitter.com/ECOUNESCO/status/1250460183106650112?s=20